Ready to cross to Greenland
Tomorrow night might be the night. The ice has finally receded from the Greenlandic coast, with “only” a few icebergs and growlers remaining between us and the next continent. This morning's forecast suggests a weather window may open tomorrow, though not quite as ideal as we'd hoped.
Our plan was to reach Prins Christian Sund at Greenland's southern tip before heading north along the west coast. Instead, the forecast now points us toward Tasilaq, on the east coast. When preparing this trip, sailing south along Greenland's east coast, famously uncharted and infested with ice, seemed too much of a challenge. But now that Nature has decided for us, we’re secretly pleased to add another territory to our exploration, even if it raises our stress level a notch. Hopefully, we won’t regret this decision.
Capsula is ready. After several trips to the supermarket with overloaded backpacks and one to the fuel station, her waterline has sunk a few centimetres. Should the worst happen, we can be self-sufficient for two months. This might be a bit excessive as the crossing should take only a few days, and Greenlandic villages have groceries and fuel, in theory.
We have (or rather, Stefano has) inspected every possible corner of Capsula above and below deck and, surprisingly, everything seems to be in working order. Stefano even dived to ensure that no surprises were awaiting us below the hull and, while he was at it, he ran the same check on our buddy boat, Endeavour, who should be crossing with us to Greenland.
While we've met almost nothing but fishing vessels since leaving Edinburgh, there are now five fellow sailing boats in the harbour, getting ready, like us, to cross to Greenland. We spend hours chatting on the pontoon or over coffee, sharing tips about Greenland, studying the weather forecast after each update, learning from more seasoned sailors, and unloading our worries.
If all goes well, we should cross with Endeavour and another French boat, Galathée, both with aluminium hulls and bigger than us. Crossing as a mini flotilla will be another first time for us. Weirdly enough, the waves and wind already feel less threatening, and two boats with more ice-resistant hulls should make good company entering the iceberg alley before Tasilaq.
I suspect we won’t sleep much tonight.
Anne, Hafnarfjörður, July 2026